Locking Hub System

• US 20160069397A1
• Filed: 09/05/2014
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Warn Automotive LLC (Dover Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Warn Industries Incorporated (LKQ Corporation)
• Inventors: Clohessy, Kip E., Reiner, Adam K., Bowers, Michael L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,382,951 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/344 having a transfer gear
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/35 including arrangements for suppressing or influencing the power transfer, e.g. viscous clutches differential gearing with locking devices F16H48/20
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/3515 with a clutch adjacent to traction wheel, e.g. automatic wheel hub
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/352 manually operated
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 11/14 with clutching members movable only axially F16D11/02, F16D11/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 2011/004 using an internal or intermediate axially slidable sleeve, coupling both components together, whereby the intermediate sleeve is arranged internally at least with respect to one of the components

Abstract

A locking hub system in a vehicle is provided. The locking hub system includes an inner drive gear assembly including a drive gear having a drive gear interior splined surface configured to attach to a vehicle axle and a bearing housing rotationally coupled to the drive gear having a bearing housing exterior splined surface configured to mate with a wheel attachment interface and a clutch ring assembly including a pin ring having a plurality of cantilevered pins extending from a support ring, partially enclosing a clutch ring, and unsupported at one end, the clutch ring including a clutch ring splined interior surface slidably moveable to mate with an drive gear splined exterior surface of the drive gear in an engaged configuration and slidably moveable to decouple from the drive gear splined exterior surface in a disengaged configuration.

Claims

1. A locking hub system in a vehicle comprising:

an inner drive gear assembly including a drive gear having a drive gear interior splined surface configured to attach to a vehicle axle and a bearing housing rotationally coupled to the drive gear having a bearing housing exterior splined surface configured to mate with a wheel attachment interface; and

a clutch ring assembly including a pin ring having a plurality of cantilevered pins extending from a support ring, partially enclosing a clutch ring, and unsupported at one end, the clutch ring including a clutch ring splined interior surface slidably moveable to mate with a drive gear splined exterior surface of the drive gear in an engaged configuration and slidably moveable to decouple from the drive gear splined exterior surface in a disengaged configuration.

2. The locking hub system of claim 1, further comprising a cap assembly configured to actuate the clutch ring assembly into the engaged and disengaged configurations in response to manual input.

3. The locking hub system of claim 2, where the relative positions of the clutch ring and the drive gear are axially shifted in response to the manual input.

4. The locking hub system of claim 2, where the pin ring includes an outward surface adjacent to an inward surface in the cap assembly.

5. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the bearing housing exterior splined surface extends 360 degrees around the bearing housing and includes a plurality of splines, where consecutive splines are equidistantly spaced.

6. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the unsupported ends of the plurality of cantilevered pins are adjacent to an outward surface of the bearing housing.

7. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the pin ring includes an even number of cantilevered pins positioned substantially evenly around a circumference of the pin ring.

8. The locking hub system of claim 1, where an axial width of the bearing housing is greater than an axial width of the pin ring.

9. The locking hub system of claim 1, where an inward surface of the bearing housing is adjacent to a wheel bearing outer race.

10. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the drive gear assembly further includes a roller bearing fixedly coupled to the bearing housing and rotationally coupled to the drive gear.

11. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the clutch ring assembly and the drive gear are constructed out of metal.

12. A locking hub system comprising:

an inner drive gear assembly including a drive gear having a drive gear interior splined surface configured to attach to an axle and a bearing housing rotationally coupled to the drive gear having a bearing housing exterior splined surface configured to mate with a wheel attachment interface; and

a clutch ring assembly including a pin ring having a plurality of cantilevered pins extending from a support ring and partially enclosing a clutch ring and unsupported at one end, the clutch ring including a clutch ring splined interior surface slidably moveable to mate with a drive gear splined exterior surface of the drive gear in an engaged configuration providing joint rotational movement of the drive gear and the clutch ring and slidably moveable to decouple from the drive gear splined exterior surface in a disengaged configuration providing independent rotation of the drive gear from the clutch ring.

13. The locking hub system of claim 12, where the pin ring is constructed out of metal.

14. The locking hub system of claim 12, where an axial width of the bearing housing is greater than an axial width of the drive gear.

15. The locking hub system of claim 12, where the unsupported ends of the plurality of cantilevered pins are in face sharing contact with an inward surface of the bearing housing.

16. The locking hub system of claim 12, where an inward surface of the bearing housing is adjacent to a wheel bearing outer race.

17. A locking hub system in a vehicle comprising:

a clutch ring assembly including a pin ring having a plurality of cantilevered pins extending from a support ring and partially enclosing a clutch ring, the pin ring only held axially inward toward an axle by a cap assembly, the clutch ring only held inward toward the axle by the pin ring, the pin ring interfacing with an inner drive gear assembly coupled to the axle via the cantilevered pins.

18. The locking hub system of claim 17, where the inner drive gear assembly includes a drive gear having a drive gear interior splined surface configured to attach to the axle and a bearing housing rotationally coupled to the drive gear having a bearing housing exterior splined surface configured to mate with a wheel attachment interface and where the clutch ring includes a clutch ring splined interior surface slideably moveable to mate with a drive gear splined exterior surface of the drive gear in an engaged configuration providing joint rotational movement of the drive gear and the clutch ring and slidably moveable to decouple from the drive gear splined exterior surface in a disengaged configuration providing independent rotation of the drive gear from the clutch ring.

19. The locking hub system of claim 18, where the clutch ring includes an outward surface adjacent to an inward surface in the cap assembly, where the unsupported ends of the plurality of cantilevered pins do not axially extend between splines in the bearing housing exterior splined surface, and where the cap assembly is configured to actuate the clutch ring assembly in the engaged and disengaged configurations in response to manual input.

20. The locking hub system of claim 18, where an axial width of the bearing housing is greater than an axial width of the pin ring.